Flexible stay-bolt construction



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L45545 R. s. MENNIE FLEXIBLE STAY BOLT CONSTRUCTION' Filed Aug. 4, 1919atented llfiay 15, 1923.

' ROBERT S. vENNl-E, OF CHICAGO, ILLNGIS.

FLXBLE STAY-BOLT COSTRUCTION.

Application filed August A To all whom z'z may concern.'

Be it known that I, ROBERT S. MENNIE, a subject of the King of GreatBritain, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State ofIllinois, have invented certain new and useful lmprovements in FlexibleStay- Bovlt Constructions, of which the following is a s'pecilication.`l j My invention relates to improvements in staybolts, such as arelused, for example, in locomotive boilers. Y

In such boilers there is a certain relative movement between the wall otthe tire box and the boiler wall, these walls being known as the innerand outer sheets respectively. Said walls are not only held at a lineddistance from leach other 'by the staybolts against the steam pressurewhich tends to force them apart, but said staybolts must also permitthis slight `relative movement without substantial leakage of steam. Tomoet `these requirements, vsoo-called 'flexible stayb'olts have beenused heretofore, the outer ends of which were enlarged to cooperate witha sleeve, forming in eii'ect a ball and socket joint, thereby permittingthe ynecessary freedom of movement at that end or" the staybolt.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide an improvedstaybolt connection which is in fact flexible, i. e., means beingprovided whereby relative movement of each end of the staybolt ispermitted with reference to the adjacent sheet. Another object is toprovide a exible staybolt of this character so devised as to permit thesteam to blow outwardly when the staybolt breaks instead of inwardlyinto the firebox,

therebygiving an indication of the breakage which is more readilyobserved.

, A further object is to provide a staybolt having a sealed orsteam-tight `connection between the same and the adjacent sheet, at thesame time permitting the desired tienibility between the two. y

Other objects andadvantages will be aparent from the followingdescription directed to three embodiments of the invention, which areillustrated in the accompanying drawings. l Figure 1 is a sectionthrough the outer and inner sheets, showing the staybolt in sideelevation, oneend of the staybolt havinga cap providinga flexible buttight connection at that end only;

Serial No.' 315,178.

Fig. 2 is a similar view of a staybolt lvided with a ienible sleeve; v

Fig. 3 is a similar view of a staybolt with means providing a i'lexibleconnection with these sheets at each end. y

The staybolt 1G shown in Fig. 1 may be ot any suitable outline, beingprovided with an enlarged head 11, preferably spherical in part, whichcooperates with a correspond,- ingly shaped seat formed in the opening12 in the outer sheet 13, through which `said staybolt passes. rl`hehead and the seatrfor'm a ball and socket joint,A permitting movement ofsaid staybolt through a considerable angle with reference to the planeof said sheet. rlhe other end ot said staybolt in this case is shown inthe conventional forni heretofore used, having a screw-threaded portion14 passing through a screw-threaded opening in the inner sheet 15, `theprojecting end ot said staybolt being upset to form a head 16, therebyforming a substanti'ally steam-tight joint and practically a rigidconnect-ion between said staybolt and said sheet. The outer end oiu saidlstaybolt is provided with an opening 17 extending at least `as far asthe point where staybolts usually break, said breakageordinarily/occurring near the outer end thereof. .Said opening mayextend, however, nearly to the end ot said bolt, or throughout theentire length thereof.

The outer endet the opening 17 ,is enlarged to form a recess 1S whichispreferably non-circular whereby a tool may be inserted and used torotate the staybolt to screw the inner end thereof' through the in-l nersheet when the staybolt is first put in place. p e

To prevent the escape of steam by leakage through the ball and socketjoint, the outer end thereot7 is secured by a suitable cap or housingwhich in the present instance is shown in the torni oi an annularchannel member 19 preferably stamped or pressed from sheet metal andhaving its outer flange abutting against the outer wall 0i' the outersheet 13,l the inner flange thereof abutting against the outer surfaceof the staybolt. Said outer flange is preferably welded to said sheet 13as shownat 20, and the inner flange is welded to the staybolt head asshown at 21, this ,welding being` preferably autogenous welding,` being`readily accomplished by means ot 'an elecprolli)

` f tric arc struck between the work and a vmetallic electrode held inthe hand of the operator. These welded joints are steamtight, the metalof the respective parts be? 'danger to the welded joints. Said cap beingannular in this case provides a central opening in communication withthe opening 17 in the staybolt, whereby if the staybolt should breaknear the outer end thereof, steam will blow out through the opening 17and through the central opening in the cap, and leaking through themagnesia lagging or insulating covering on the outsidel of the boilerwall (not shown) will give a clear indication of the leak, which may bereadily located by' removing some of'said lagging. lIn renewing thestaybolt, the cap 19 may be readily chipped off, the broken pieces ofthe staybolt removed, a newstaybolt substituted, and a newcap welded inplace.

Inl Figure 2 the staybolt 10 may be assumed to be similar to that shownin Figure 1, withvor without the central opening. The ball and socketjoint in this instance is formed'by the, head 11 and a sleeve 22,v theopening 23 through which said sleeve passesv being larger than in therst instance. Said opening is preferably tapered andreceivesthecorrespondingly tapered or conical outer end of said sleeve,the outer edge ofl which is welded to the outer wall at 24. The`outer'surface of saidslecvemay be made flush with the outer surface ofthe sheet 13 if desired. The inner` end of said sleeve is preferablycorrugated or otherwise formed to make ,Y it Ymore exible and is weldedto the ,shank ofthe staybolt at 25. The diameter of the corrugatedportions is less than ythe minimum diameter of the opening 23, wherebysaid sleeve vmay be welded to said staybolt before being passed throughsaid opening. The inner end of said staybolt is screwed into the openingin the inner sheet 15 before the sleeve is welded to the outer sheet.

The staybolt shown in Figures land 2 is thus provided with a flexiblesteam-tight connection with the outer sheet 13. As a result, relativemovement of the sheets in substantially parallel planes results indistorting the -inner sheet, which is of thinner metal than the outersheet, whereby said inner' sheet tends to assume a somewhat wavy form incross section, although the actual distortion is of course 'very slight.Stresses are set up, however, which tend to rupture said sheet, andstresses are also set upl in thel staybolts ywhich vtend to break thesame, and considerable diiiculty withv such breakage is encountered inpractice. Furthermore, the upsetting or heading of the innerpend 1,6 ofsaid staybolts tends to crystallize the metal if ordinary mild steel isused, yas a resultof which it is necessary to make the staybolts ofamore expensive, high-grade iron.

To overcome .these defects, l have shown in Figurer? a staybolt whichhas a flexible' connection with'the boiler` walls at each end thereof.As a result ofV thisarrangement, bending stresses in the stayboltare-practically elin'iinatedyand l' am therefore enabled .tofuse astayboltv of ordinary mild steelk or similar metal and f also lto reducethe diameter of the staybolt, thusefl'ecting a substantial economy. Saidstaybolt 26 is provided with an enlarged head 27, which in this case isshown as forming a flexible connection at the inner lsheet instead of atthe outer'sheet'. Said head Vengages a sleeve 28 substantially the sameas that previously described, said sleeve being welded at L29 to saidinnersheet and at 30 to said stayboltashank. Said staybolt may be ofhollow construction under certainv conditions, lthe Vopening 31 thereincommunicating with "the fire box in this instance instead of with theouter air. The opposite endof said staybolt is screw threaded at 32and'carries a nut 33 having a spherical Zone which fits in a 'seat in asleeve 34, the latter being screw threaded into an opening in the outersheet. Said sleeveis provided with a removable screw-threaded cap35,providing ya steamtight connection. j y c It will be'seen'that a balland socket joint is provided at each end -of thev staybolt wherebyperfect freedom of movementl of the outer and inner sheets in parallelplanes is permitted, said sheets being held against 7 separation by vthesaid staybolt. If said `staybolt breaks, Vsteam blows into the fire boxand may be observed when the latter isinspectedat the end of a run.However,

with the flexible connections asy described',

there" is much less' likelihood of breakage.

It will be noted that this forrn of staybolt may be assembled withouthammering,

whereby initial crystallizationfis avoided.

It is necessary to assemble thevstaybolt from within the firebox, asexperience shows that it is not desirable or practical lto have the endof the, staybolt or adjuncts, such as sleeves, caps, etc., projectinginwardlyl be# yond the irebox wall 15. For this reason it is desirableto have the inner end 'of the staybolt substantially flush with' therebox wall as inFigures 1 and 2, the same desirable result being4obtained in Figure 3 also, in which a flexible steam-tight connectionis provided. There isl less objectioni'to a projecting sleeve or lcap atthe outer end ofthe stayboltgas there is no danger of said projectionburning off as would happen ,if it iso were at the inner end of saidbolt. The ball and socket arrangement provided at the outer endof thestaybolt shown in Figure 3 is simply a conventional device.

Itis to be understood, however, that a welded sleeve may be used in thiscase also, either in the form shown in Figures l and 2 or in-variousother forms. In fact, various changes and modificationsA maybe made inthe forms of invention described herein, which forms are selected forthe purpose of illustration only, and are not intended to exclude suchother modications as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. The combination with the outer and inner sheets of a boiler havingalined openings therein, of a staybolt passing through said openings,and having an enlarged head at its inner end, said head having aspherical -zone cooperating .with a correspondingly s shaped seat toprovide a ball and socket joint, the end of said staybolt beingsubstantially Hush with the inner surface of said inner sheet, theopposite end of said bolt being provided with a member having also aspherical zone cooperating with a corresponding seat to form a secondball and socket joint whereby angular movement of' each of said sheetswith reference to the staybolt is permitted.

2. In a staybolt construction, the combination with a boiler wallhaving. an opening therein, of a staybolt passing through said openinghaving an enlarged head, a circular member arranged concentric with theaxis of said staybolt and having a flexible portion, said member beingwelded at one edge to said boiler wall and at another edge to saidstaybolt, said Welded portions forming complete circles and providingsteam-tight connections.

3. The combination with a boiler wall having an opening therein, of astaybolt having a diameter less than that of said opening and passingtherethrough, `an enlarged head for said staybolt, and a sleeve littingsaid opening and arranged between said head and said wall, the outer endof said sleeve being welded to saidwall and the inner end thereof beingwelded to said staybolt, said sleeve having a corrugated portionsurrounding the shank of said staybolt and of a diameter less than thatof said opening to permit assembly.

4. The combination with a boiler Wall having a tapering opening therein,of a metallic sleeve having a tapering end fitting said opening, astaybolt passing through said sleeve and having a spherical head littinga corresponding seat in said sleeve to provide a ball and socket joint,a portion of said sleeve surrounding the shank of said staybolt andbeing corrugated to render the same more flexible, one part of saidsleeve being Welded to said staybolt shank, and another part thereofbeing welded to said wall to provide a flexible steam-tight connection.

5. In a staybolt construction, the combination with a boiler wall of astaybolt having a rounded end portion, means providing a -seat for saidend portion to form a flexible joint, thereby permitting angularmovement of said bolt with respect to said wall, and a third memberintegrally united to said movable staybolt and to the adjacent portionof the stationary structure.

6. The combination with a boiler Wall having an opening therein, of astaybolt having a diameter less than that of said opening and passingtherethrough, an enlarged head for said staybolt, and a sleeve fittingsaid opening and arranged between said head and said wall, the outer endof said sleeve being secured to said Wall and the inner end thereofbeing secured to said staybolt to form a steam-tight joint.

In testimony whereof, I have subscribed my name.

ROBERT S. IVIEIDTIE.

